Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Maybe I Should Rethink This

I got new headshots done and put a couple of looks up on all my casting sites last Thursday. Then on Friday, I got two notices from my agent for auditions on Saturday. Say what?!

The first one was for a promo commercial for a cable channel and the second was a print audition. Both castings were on the west side and around the same time. Score!

But here's the problem: I got to the promo audition at 3:45 expecting to be finished before 4:40, the time of the print audition. Unfortunately, the casting was running late, and there were 10 people in front of me. To make matters worse, we were all supposed to run our lines with someone who would play our son—and only a couple of kids showed up!

I kindly asked the casting agent if I could run to the next "appointment" and come back, but she snapped, "We're only running till 4:20." I looked at my watch and it was 4:10. Great. So I'm pissing off the casting lady and I'm gonna be late for my 4:40, because there's no way she's getting through 10 people in 10 minutes!

I have to say that it's a good rule not to worry, even when you're running late. Because when you worry, you're bound to piss off someone. And if you piss off someone, just don't let it be the casting agent. Fortunately, she was too busy to even remember what I had said to her, and she was perfectly pleasant while running lines with me on camera.

The print audition was at the Barrington Recreation Center, which I've been to for a softball tournament. Unfortunately, there are 2 Barrington Rec Centers, a block away from the other. I got confused and wandered around in the parking lot for half an hour before a pretty woman in a red dress smiled and asked if I was there for an audition. She pointed the way down the street and totally saved my butt.

By the time I got signed in and stood in line, I was a good 45 minutes late. But it didn't seem to matter. A dozen people got in line after me.

After the auditions, I was famished. My wife was in Orange County visiting her parents, so I told her I was gonna get a burger and beer at the original Father's Office on Montana Street. If it's in the early evening, it's a good bet you can find a seat there and I did, right in front of the TV at the bar. I was so happy, I even ordered a side of fries.